Stubble burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana have dropped by more than 50 per cent over the past two years, yet Delhi’s air quality continues to deteriorate, suggesting that farm fires may no longer be the primary driver of the Capital’s winter pollution.
According to RTI data accessed from the Commission for Air QualityManagement (CAQM), total farm fire cases fell from 12,750 in 2024 to 6,080 in 2025. FIRs registered against farmers for burning residue also dipped sharply from 6,469 to 2,193 during the same period.
Punjab reported a fall from 5,802 to 1,963 cases, while Haryana saw a decline from 667 to 230. Authorities have imposed around ₹68 crore in fines over the past two years.
The subdued fire count has also been attributed in part to floods that disrupted cropping cycles.
Despite this decline, Delhi recorded an average AQI of 318 on Monday, with most monitoring stations in the “poor” or “very poor” category.
The data strengthens recent research indicating that stubble burning, though still a contributor, is no longer the dominant cause of Delhi’s pollution spikes.
